Explaining Wind

This sounds like something the wife might tell our grandson. And y'know what? She just might be right ... 'cept we don't have a dog.

Can I Fix That for You? 1

What can I say? Some of these are set up for fun, I'm sure. But still, they do illustrate how something out of place or not lined up correctly can get on our nerves.

So what do you think? Do you feel like reaching in and fixing the darned things?

I do ... oh, I DO!

Aaaargh!

I'm ...

Will return on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2014

... maybe a little later.

Its, It’s and ... Its’?

Recently, on Food TV’s Good Eats program starring one of my favorite nerd-chefs, Alton Brown, one of the facts that popped up on the screen during his “American Classics V: A Pound of Cake” show made me sit up and squirm.

There, for all to see, was a big boo-boo. Now, I’ve seen “its” confused with “it’s” many times, but this is the first time I’ve ever seen the word “its’” used in any context anywhere.

The show first aired on Oct. 26, 2009, by the way. That’s five years. Do you think nobody caught the error? “Its’” a possibility.

Weird Chinese Menu Items

It's fun to read Chinese menus. Once you get past the misspellings and have a few laughs, try checking out the strange offerings. I found these dish listings at Asian Pearl in Fremont the last time the wife and I visited.

First, have you had goose webs? I've had duck's feet and chicken's feet, which are essentially the same thing as goose webs. So next time, I should try them. I think.

Should I have them with sea cucumber in a clay pot?

Or maybe braised in abalone sauce?

And speaking of sea cucumber and abalone, should I get the braised combination? It's pretty expensive.

I could get some pork belly and frog, but I'm leaning toward the "grab." I think they misspelled "crab," but I could be mistaken.

Oh, and how could I forget the goose intestines ... stir-fried, no less.

If I try any of these, I'll report back.

Have You Heard the Buzz?

The buzzing of the bees, actually.

When the widelia ground cover flowers in our back yard bloom, the honey bees come buzzing around in droves. They give me comfort when they're around.

After all, the bee population in the Islands is in peril. They've been under attack by Varroa destructor parasitic mites since 2007, and their populations have drastically declined (e.g., from 419 to 145 colonies in 2008 on Oahu, a 65% wipeout). The Big Island of Hawaii's bee population underwent huge destruction in 2009.

So yeah, they're in trouble.

That's why I'm so glad to see them gathering food from our widelia.

Phone Pix 28: Sonoma Wineries

When the wife and I visited Sonoma last year, we stopped by a number of wineries. Now, we aren't wine drinkers, but I had great interest in the process of winemaking, and in their gift shops.

I mean, after all, one is always amenable to learning things, and there are always gifts to get for people back home. And, since I was already there taking pictures with my Sony camera for inclusion in blog posts, it was no problem to whip out my phone, turn on its camera, and snap a few more.

Like these:

Gift Shop, Sebastiani Winery, Sept. 23, 2013

Gift Shop, Sebastiani Winery, Sept. 23, 2013

Gift Shop, Viansa Vineyard, Sept. 23, 2013

Gift Shop, Viansa Vineyard, Sept. 23, 2013

Outhouse, Benziger Winery, Sept. 24, 2013

Grape Juice Tanks, Benziger Winery, Sept. 24, 2013

Grape Processing Equipment, Benziger Winery, Sept. 24, 2013

Wine Barrels, Benziger Winery, Sept. 24, 2013